Disenchanted Swiss Parliament? Electoral Strategies and Coalition Formation

Abstract

AbstractThe Swiss party system has changed considerably since the 1990s. With the increasing electoral success of the right‐wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP), the simultaneous defeat of the center‐right and a relatively stable left, it has become more polarized. In what respect have these changes in the electoral arena affected legislative politics in parliament? This article studies the voting behavior of party groups in the Swiss lower house between 1996 and 2013 in six different policy fields. The findings point to a growing level of conflict in the Swiss parliament. Overall agreement among the government parties is reduced, especially at final voting stages of the parliamentary debate. Moreover, electoral politics have become more important for the parties' behavior in parliament: in policy areas that are at the center of their party program, the SP and the SVP are less willing to move away from their original policy stance, with the consequence of increasing isolation in parliamentary votes.